Woorabinda Youth Yarning Up

The Indigenous Australian population is a young population, with growing numbers of young people and fewer older people. Young people have different needs to older people. In addition, young people living in regional, rural and remote areas have different needs from those living in urban areas. To address the specific needs of Indigenous young people, policy makers and service providers need to improve their understanding of the issues that Indigenous young people face and the ways they think about their health and wellbeing. This report details a research project focussed on gathering new information about the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the rural/remote Indigenous community of Woorabinda in Central Queensland. The key aim of the research was to: a) Explore how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in Central Queensland understand their own health and wellbeing; b) Understand factors which impact on the health and wellbeing of the young people; and c) Identify what young people need to build their capacity to support their health and wellbeing. The project used an exploratory, mixed methods approach to collect and analyse qualitative and quantitative data. Eighteen Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people from the discrete Indigenous community of Woorabinda directly participated in this research by attending the ‘Youth Yarning Up’ workshop. The research revealed that young people in Woorabinda see their health and wellbeing as a complex, multilayered construct influenced by a range of factors. They described health and wellbeing as being about ‘making good choices for yourself and your family’, having ‘healthy thinking’ and ‘being healthy in your mind’. They suggested that health is negatively affected by ‘isolation and neglect of all kinds’ and ‘loss’, particularly loss related to early deaths and suicide in the community. Participants felt that health and wellbeing are improved through ‘families coming together to heal’, having ...